O2 and BT in deal “worth several hundreds of millions”

O2 and BT have extended their relationship in the UK with a five year deal worth several hundred million pounds.

The deal comes as an extension to their 2009 agreement to enter the fixed-line market for business customers, but an exact figure on the cost of the deal was withheld.

The deal includes connectivity, infrastructure, and professional services agreements, and both firms hope to provide and integrated suite of ICT services for companies in the UK.

Ben Dowd, O2’s business director said: "We have seen a huge increase in the demand for integrated ICT services since we launched our first offering three years ago. Our relationship with BT Wholesale brings together world-class mobile and fixed-line connectivity so we can offer our business customers the best possible suite of services now and for the future. This deal supports our aim to help UK businesses grow."

Nigel Stagg, CEO, BT Wholesale said: "In addition to superfast connectivity on O2’s growing 4G network – which now covers a third of the UK population – business customers will also benefit from speeds of up to 80 megabits per second over BT’s fibre broadband network. Additionally, O2 will benefit from BT Wholesale’s extensive national Ethernet network and product portfolio, which includes the widest range of access options in the market, to underpin their own fixed line based services."